


make me feel

by star_fruit (starxreactor)



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Bad Puns, Clown-to-Clown Communication, Crack Treated Seriously, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Flirting, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Oblivious Sokka (Avatar), Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, aang maybe ships it a little too much, katara just wants some brain bleach, so rated t for toph, this was going to be rated g but then toph happened
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-17
Updated: 2020-09-17
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:34:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26418049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starxreactor/pseuds/star_fruit
Summary: There was a giggle. But it was not from Katara. Or even Aang.Sokka’s head snapped over to Zuko, who looked just as shocked as Sokka felt. His cheeks were cherry-red and he had a hand clapped over his mouth. “Did you just laugh?” Sokka asked. Just to make sure his ears still worked.Zuko spluttered, his cheeks darkening. “What—no! Why would I ever—I mean, what is laughing?” And then, “Your jokes suck anyway!”ORSokka accidentally makes Zuko laugh during one of their fights. He takes it upon himself to continue making Zuko laugh in their future encounters, just as a "distraction tactic."
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 109
Kudos: 1568





	make me feel

**Author's Note:**

> *shows up to the atla renaissance four months late with starbucks*
> 
> Just to make this clear, there is _nothing_ romantic between Sokka and Zuko before his redemption arc. There’s flirting that they don’t realize is flirting and mutual attraction that they also don’t realize is attraction, because they’re clowns, but that is the extent of the romance. Sokka is 100% anti-Zuko, as he should be, and Zuko doesn’t suddenly become good because he’s secretly in love with Sokka. Despite what Aang says at one point in the fic.
> 
> This is like, set in a vague, nebulous state of canon where it's pretty much compliant except for some characterization and dialogue tweaks. It's also basically just crack.

The first time Sokka made Zuko laugh, it was entirely by accident.

Zuko had managed to ambush them as they were leaving a port town. It seemed to be entirely out of coincidence that they were even there at the same time, but Zuko quickly took advantage of the opportunity and had his crew seize all three of them before they could escape. 

Sokka, of course, had never heard of shutting up when in trouble and so proceeded to criticize his captors as they were led to the ship. Loudly. “You know we’re just going to escape, right? Like, guys, this isn’t even good rope. Seriously, are you _even_ trying to capture Aang? Oh, and by the way—”

“Shut up,” Zuko said.

“ _Please_ shut up,” Katara added, looking pained.

Sokka gaped at her. “You—what—you Fire Nation sympathizer! My own sister, betraying me to the Fire Nation!”

There was a giggle. But it was not from Katara. Or even Aang.

Sokka’s head snapped over to Zuko, who looked just as shocked as Sokka felt. His cheeks were cherry-red and he had a hand clapped over his mouth. “Did you just _laugh_?” Sokka asked. Just to make sure his ears still worked.

Zuko spluttered, his cheeks darkening. “What—no! Why would I ever—I mean, what is laughing?” And then, “Your jokes suck anyway!”

Before Sokka could respond to that painful and egregious and _not at all true_ insult, Aang took the opportunity to breathe in deeply and knock Zuko over with his airbending while everyone was distracted. Katara and Sokka both slumped over, weighing themselves down and then shoving their captors aside when they staggered. They didn’t wait any longer, running in the direction of their camp. There was a time and place to fight and this was _not_ it.

* * *

As they passed by on Appa, Zuko shouting at them from the ground, Sokka decided to say something back—just to fluster Zuko and make him even angrier. “You have a cute laugh!”

As predicted, Zuko’s entire face—well, one half of it, anyway—went completely red and he grit his teeth. “Shut up, peasant!”

“Make me!” Sokka taunted, and by then they were too far away to hear Zuko’s response, if he said anything. But there was— _ooh hot_ —a fireball that narrowly missed Sokka, so he supposed that was answer enough. And Sokka was truly touched that Zuko had aimed specifically at him rather than just their general direction.

Katara was staring at him in disbelief when Sokka turned. “‘You have a cute laugh?’ _Really_?”

Sokka shrugged. “I just wanted to mess with him.”  
  
“Sure,” Katara said. Her tone screamed, _You’re an idiot and I can’t believe we’re related_. But that was usually how she sounded when she spoke to Sokka, so he ignored it.

“I thought it was funny,” Aang offered from Appa’s head. “Besides, his laugh _was_ cute!”

Sokka lost himself in thought as Katara began arguing with Aang over what constituted as cute, and how Zuko was one-hundred percent _not_ cute. 

They had only managed to escape because Zuko, and by extension his crew, had been distracted by the fact that he had actually _laughed_ at Sokka’s joke.

That… could be a good strategy for the future. 

Sokka was going to have to plan this out more in detail.

* * *

And thus, Operation: Get Zuko to Laugh was born.

* * *

First, Sokka went over every single pun and joke he knew off the top of his head and sorted them into categories of “Most Likely to Make Zuko Laugh,” “Have a Chance at Making Zuko Laugh,” and “Don’t Even _Think_ of Trying These Out or You’ll Get a Fireball to the Face.”

Sokka had made many quips during their scuffles with Zuko, so he had a basis to go off of. 

...And most of them ended up in the latter category, which was when Sokka realized he was going to have to try something different. 

He had no idea where to start, though.

* * *

It hit Sokka suddenly, when he was about to fall asleep. Zuko had laughed when Sokka inadvertently insulted Katara.

...Insulting Katara? Now this, Sokka had been born to do.

* * *

The next time they ended up facing off against each other, Sokka took the opportunity to test out his plan. They were in a small ravine where Aang had gone off foraging when Zuko had come charging through the bushes the way he did with everything in life. 

Judging by the sheer shock on Zuko’s face, he hadn’t been expecting to see them there, which begged the question of _why_ exactly he was running through the undergrowth like he was being chased, but Sokka didn’t have time to ask before a blast of fire was shot his way. 

Now, Katara and Sokka were trying their hardest to keep him _here_ until Aang came back and they could all escape together. They were standing side by side, dodging Zuko’s hits and flinging water and Boomerang back in his direction.

Zuko spluttered as he was hit in the face with a stream of water. “Yeah,” Sokka said sympathetically (he didn’t even have to fake his sympathy. He’d been through _a lot_ growing up with Katara), “Katara’s just like that. Do you know how many times she’s splashed me with her magic water?”

“It’s not magic, Sokka!” 

“I don’t care,” Zuko snapped. “Just tell me where the Avatar is already!”  
  
“Nope. You’ve got to beat us first.” Sokka dodged a flaming punch. Then to Katara, he said, “Yeah, yeah, you’re just saying that, but _I’m_ the one who gets wet every time you try it out. Clearly, the universe is working against me.”

“Do you ever shut up?” Uh oh. Zuko sounded angrier than normal.  
  
“Yeah, Sokka, do you ever _shut up_?” Katara said with a smirk.  
  
Zuko snorted in amusement at her remark even as he did a low kick, and Sokka gasped. That was progress! Properly motivated, he layered on the jokes, dodging each of Zuko’s slashes with his fire daggers. “Stop acting like you’re not just as bad. I mean, it’s like you were born specifically to annoy me! And I’ve suffered so much over the years. Snow in my parka, wet fish falling onto my face, it goes on and on. Sisters truly are the wor—”

Then Katara turned, hitting Sokka with the water whip she had just been about to smack Zuko with. Priorities, man.

Zuko burst into laughter. Sokka, dripping wet and blushing furiously, threw Boomerang. It hit Zuko point blank and he crumpled onto the ground, unconscious. That was going to be painful when he woke up later.

Katara was fuming. “Why are you such a jerk, Sokka?”  
  
“Sorry!” Sokka quickly held his hands up in surrender. “I mean, it was mostly true, but I was just trying to distract Zuko.”  
  
“You couldn’t have said anything _else_?”

“Well, previous evidence suggests that he’s eighty-seven percent more likely to laugh when I insult you.” Sokka had done the math. He went over to Zuko’s side and picked up Boomerang, wincing at the truly spectacular bruise forming on his temple.

“...You were trying to get him to _laugh_?” Katara asked in disbelief. “He didn’t even laugh until _I_ hit you.”  
  
“Yeah, so my hypothesis was correct! He’s more likely to laugh when I insult you.”  
  
“But I was the one who—” She shook her head. “Never mind. I don’t want to know. Let’s just go find Aang and get out of here before Zuko wakes up.”

* * *

Katara _did_ have a point. Zuko had laughed at Katara attacking Sokka, and he had laughed at Sokka insulting Katara. There was a trend there, but Sokka was not sure what it was. Whatever it was, Sokka didn’t want to risk Katara’s wrath again, so now he was sitting here reworking his plan to get Zuko to laugh—okay, he really needed to stop saying it like that. His plan to distract Zuko using the power of jokebending. That was better.

Maybe he could give his original plan a shot? Just to see what would happen.

Operation: Get Zuko to Laugh, Mark Two, was officially in effect.

* * *

“D’you know how long it takes to brew tea?” Sokka shouted the next time they came into conflict. 

Zuko looked incredibly perplexed, actually stopping in the middle of trying to slash Sokka with a fire dagger. “What? No. Why are you asking me for tea advice? Ask my uncle.”

“Is it an oolong time?” the old man, who was Zuko’s uncle apparently, asked with a wide grin. 

Was it wrong of Sokka to say that Zuko’s uncle was his new favorite person? Because he totally was. “Yes, it is!”

Zuko just looked even more confused and a whole lot pissed off, and they quickly took the opportunity to escape. “Wh—hey! Get back here!” he screamed as they sped off towards Appa.

Which was _exactly_ what Sokka had wanted with his plan. Strangely, though, Sokka was disappointed he hadn’t gotten to try another pun.

There was a yell of rage followed by a blast of fire straight at Appa as they flew off, and Sokka quickly changed his mind. 

* * *

“Getting the ability to fly would be so uplifting,” Sokka said.  
  
Aang immediately burst into laughter, and he was so distracted Zuko nearly punched a fistful of fire into his face—wait wait no it was supposed to be the opposite way _Zuko_ was the one who was supposed to be laughing.

* * *

Okay, so no air-related puns unless he wanted the Fire Nation to actually win. Maybe Zuko would appreciate some fire ones?

* * *

“So, lately I’ve started sleeping in our campfire. Now I sleep like a log!” Sokka gazed at Zuko expectantly. In the background, he heard Katara’s palm connect with her face.

Zuko stared. For once, he wasn’t scowling and only looked confused. “Why would you sleep in a fire? That seems painful.” As if to prove his point, he sent a jet of fire towards Aang, who dodged it.

* * *

“I was going to try walking on hot burning coals but I got cold feet.”  
  
Zuko looked positively horrified for a moment, but he quickly hid it behind a sneer. “I don’t care what you do! Burn your feet if you want!”

* * *

Sokka decided to avoid all element-related jokes. Not for any particular reason, of course.

* * *

“I don’t trust stairs because they’re always up to something.”

“ _What_ in Agni’s name are you talking about?”

And Sokka… gave up. It had been _days_ and Zuko didn’t even seem to realize that Sokka was just joking around. “Do you seriously not know what a pun is?”

Zuko dodged a vicious water whip. “ _That’s_ what all those stupid things you’ve been saying are?” he asked as he regained his footing.  
  
“Hey! They’re not stupid.”

“Whatever you say, Water Tribe.” Spirits. Zuko sounded _amused_.

* * *

“I bought a boat because it was for sail.”

Zuko simply rolled his eyes, looking irritated as he backflipped (and that was so unfair how could he just _do_ that so effortlessly?), attempting to hit Aang with a fireblast after landing on his feet. Now that he knew Sokka was just spouting off a bunch of jokes during their fights, he had become a lot more receptive to them.

By which Sokka meant he didn’t immediately try to fireball Sokka in the face. 

Actually getting Zuko to laugh was another thing entirely, though. It was… a work in progress. 

“That was a good one, Sokka! Tell us another joke,” Aang said with wide, guileless eyes, as though he was not currently in a fight for his life.

“This isn’t about you,” Sokka snapped, and dodged a spear from one of Zuko’s crew members, annoyed that Zuko _just wouldn’t laugh._ But he dutifully thought of another one anyway. “Uh… waking up this morning was an eye-opening experience?” And really, he was proud of himself for coming up with that while currently avoiding getting impaled.

“Yeah, it’s normal to open your eyes when you wake up,” Zuko said seriously, and Sokka was starting to think that maybe he had hallucinated Zuko laughing—wait, did Zuko’s lip just twitch? And was that a glimmer of amusement in his eyes? 

Sokka’s jaw dropped open. “Was that a _joke_? Did you, Prince Jerkface, just tell a joke?”

Even the crew member Sokka had been grappling with stopped to look at Zuko incredulously.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Zuko said blandly, and kicked a blast of fire that only narrowly missed Sokka. Katara immediately splashed a pond’s worth of water in his face in retaliation.

Sokka was… oddly proud. Like his child who he had raised all these years had fully grown up and was moving out. Except that the child was Zuko, and Sokka had only known him for like, two months. And he was also their enemy.

* * *

He still hadn’t laughed, though, which shouldn’t have been as disappointing as it was.

* * *

“Sokka, stop flirting with the enemy!” Katara snapped one day after they made yet another daring escape from Zuko.

“What? I’m not flirting with him! What would—what would give you _that_ idea? I’m trying to make him laugh as a—as a distraction tactic! So we can escape. And in case you haven’t noticed, it’s working!”

Katara blinked. “What? No it’s not! He hasn’t even laughed once.”  
  
“It’s a work in progress.” Sokka shrugged. “Besides, he’s still getting distracted. Even if he’s not laughing.”

“Uh huh,” Katara deadpanned, clearly not believing Sokka. “So, you would try to make _Zhao_ laugh as a… ‘distraction tactic?’”

“Ew, no! Zhao is _gross_. And ugly. Why would I try to make him laugh?”

“Right,” Katara said drily. “And Zuko isn’t?”  
  
“Well,” Sokka started. And then stopped. “Wait, just because Zuko has a giant scar on his face it doesn’t mean he’s ugly! That’s kind of mean, Katara. The ponytail is unfortunate though.” And he hastened to add, “But at least Zuko isn’t old and creepy!”  
  
Katara scoffed, turning away. “You’re a moron.”

“I think it’s sweet,” was Aang’s contribution to the conversation. “You’re like forbidden lovers.”  
  
“We’re not lovers!” Sokka shouted in horror. “You think I want to suck face with _that_? He’s—he’s a colonizer!”

“Maybe he’ll become good if you keep flirting with him,” Aang continued cheerfully.

_“It’s not flirting!”_

* * *

“If you were a fruit you’d be a… fine-apple?” Wait, what kind of joke was _that_? Sokka did a double take as he read the book he was holding. Aang had gotten Sokka a large book of jokes a few days ago, and he’d been excited to try them out. But that was a weird one. 

And yes, Katara, it was totally safe for him to pull out the book in the middle of a battle! It wasn’t like there was anyone for him to even fight this time, anyway. Zuko was busy dealing with both Katara and Aang, and he was once again fighting them alone.

Zuko looked just as confused, but he quickly covered it up and sniffed. “That was subpar compared to your other ones.”  
  
Sokka barely managed to suppress a grin upon hearing that Zuko apparently had enough of an opinion on Sokka’s jokes to _rate_ them. And that he had vaguely complimented him. “Oh, so you’re an expert at puns now, huh? Tell me, who’s the jokebender here?”  
  
Zuko seemed as though he deeply regretted opening his mouth. Moments later, Aang blasted him with a strong burst of wind, knocking him into the river, so Sokka was still winning.

* * *

Still, Sokka was not going to let the book go to waste, seeing as how Aang had spent his money on it for Sokka.

* * *

“I was wondering if you had an extra heart. Because mine was just stolen!” Sokka said triumphantly, and then blanched, realizing what he had just said. 

Zuko’s face was incredibly red. “Um—what?” he squeaked. And was promptly knocked out by a well-timed water whip.

“Sokka, do you _ever_ think before you speak?” Katara shouted, looking as though she was considering fratricide.

Well, that certainly worked as a distraction.

* * *

“Aang. This is a book of _pickup lines_.”  
  
“Oops! I must have gotten them mixed up. Heh. Sorry about that!”

“Stop trying to set me up with Zuko! It’s not going to happen.”

* * *

Sokka _wanted_ to be mad. 

He knew it wasn’t an accident like Aang claimed. And he was _not_ in love with Zuko just because he told him jokes all the time! He told Aang those jokes, too, and Sokka was one-hundred percent not in love with a _twelve year-old._ Besides, he had no right to interfere in Sokka’s love life when he himself was still mooning over Katara. 

But as much as he hated to admit it, the pickup lines had been even better when it came to distracting Zuko. Especially now that he clearly knew Sokka was trying to make him laugh and just refused to do it. _Clearly._ Zuko was apparently smarter than he let on.

...Maybe he could try some of the tamer ones. _Maybe_.

* * *

“Your eyes are bluer than the ocean, and I don’t mind being lost at sea—wait.”  
  
“...My eyes are _gold_ , you idiot.”

“Hold on, I can redo that one!”

“Yeah, you’d better impress me after _that_.”

* * *

“Are you a time traveler? Because I see you in my future.”  
  
The corner of Zuko’s mouth curled up, just the slightest bit. If Sokka hadn’t been searching for it he never would have noticed. “I can assure you I’ll be in your future for as long as you have the Avatar.”

* * *

Wait. Was Zuko… flirting _back_?

Since when had _that_ been a thing?

* * *

“You must be exhausted,” Sokka said with a crooked grin. His arms were crossed over his chest as he gazed down at the prince who was lying on the ground, paralyzed from the giant mole thing’s tongue. His uncle was close by with that terrifying woman sprawled on top of him. 

Zuko glared at him. “You’re not funny.”

As if. He had _lots_ of evidence towards the contrary. Sokka continued, ignoring Katara’s irritated, “Sokka. _Not now_.” 

“You’ve been running through my mind all day,” he said.  
  
“Well, I’m clearly not running now,” Zuko said in a raspier voice than usual, and not nearly as angrily as Sokka would have expected. 

“I always knew you had a sense of humor,” Sokka said brightly. “There’s no way someone can stay that angry _all_ the time.”

“Yeah?” Zuko said. “Try me. I dare you.” Strange, though, his voice was still lacking any of the fierceness he usually spoke with.

Katara was shouting at him to leave them alone, and Sokka sighed. “See you ‘round next time you decide to kidnap Aang.” 

“Yeah,” Zuko said softly, so quiet that Sokka almost didn’t hear it, “see you.”

As he walked away, Sokka heard Zuko’s uncle loudly exclaim, “Prince Zuko! You didn’t tell me you liked the Water Tribe boy.”  
  
_“Shut up Uncle.”_

* * *

“Sokka, you’ve gone from bad jokes to just straight up hitting on Zuko. And he’s _reciprocating_. How are you still convinced that it’s not flirting?” Katara asked that night.

Sokka carelessly waved a hand. “I know what I’m doing, Katara. I just realized that bad pickup lines distract Zuko _way_ more than just some jokes. Also, blame Aang for it.”

Aang attempted to become one with the shadows surrounding their campsite.

“...Okay, but what about the part where he’s flirting back?”  
  
He still didn’t know how to handle that particular revelation himself, and so didn’t say anything. It was a good thing that Sokka had years of experience when it came to ignoring annoying little sisters. 

* * *

Sokka sat up straight in the middle of the night, realizing that Zuko had technically never denied what his uncle said about him liking Sokka.

...It didn’t necessarily mean that he _did_ like Sokka, though. 

He shrugged, filing that particular piece of information for later (or never), and went back to sleep. It was _way_ too late (or early, depending on one’s point of view) for Sokka to deal with this right now.

* * *

It didn’t really matter, though, because they finally made it to the North Pole without any more encounters with Zuko. 

And Yue was there, all pale silvery hair shining like moonlight and deep blue eyes rivaling the brilliance of the ocean. Everything else paled in comparison to her radiance.

And Zuko was there too, eventually, and he was all beat up and unconscious, and even Sokka’s joy at the fact that Zuko had actually listened to his criticism and used the good rope (well, he wasn’t happy he used it on _Aang_ ) was quickly overshadowed by what happened after.

And suddenly, Zuko was completely forgotten about. Because Yue was gone, and nothing mattered anymore.

* * *

There was some weird giant metal thing chasing them, and Sokka just wanted to sleep.

“It could be Zuko,” Katara suggested after they got away for what felt like the tenth time. “We haven’t seen him since the North Pole.”

“Who’s Zuko?” Toph, their newest, _terrifying_ addition, asked.

“Sokka’s boyfriend,” Katara said in a mocking tone before Sokka could respond.

Sokka shot straight up. “He’s not my boyfriend!” He determinedly ignored the way his voice cracked. “Zuko’s this angry freak with a ponytail who’s tracked us all over the world.” Though not recently, for some reason. Unless he _was_ the one in the tank.

“He’s totally Sokka’s boyfriend, they flirted _all_ the time,” Katara whispered loudly.

“Huh. You’re not lying,” Toph said.

Sokka’s rant on how Zuko was stupid and rude and angry and not cute and that they were _not boyfriends_ was cut short when the tank thing showed up. 

He had never been more grateful that the Fire Nation was trying to kill them.

* * *

Well. Apparently Zuko _was_ still around, although at first Sokka didn’t recognize him with that new haircut. And then afterwards they spent most of their time focused on Zuko’s sister—because apparently he had one, and she was even crazier than him. 

He didn’t even get a chance to make a joke like old times, because Crazy Blue Fire shot her own uncle with a fireblast and Zuko freaked out, driving them all away with a slash of his hand and a wave of red-hot flames.

* * *

It was weird, not being chased by him. Sokka was glad at first, until he realized that they had traded Zuko for his crazy sister Azula.

Then Sokka started wishing for Zuko back, because at least he had been easy to distract.

* * *

(He’d tried, once. Making a joke around Azula. The less said about that disaster the better).

* * *

Sokka made a joke as they were crossing the Serpent’s Pass, half expecting Zuko to show up and shoot something back (and there was a fifty-fifty chance of it being in words or fireballs). 

He didn’t, of course, because he had completely disappeared. Sokka wasn’t disappointed. Not really, since he had been a pain to deal with, like a particularly stubborn thorn they just couldn’t dig out. But it was _strange_. He’d gotten far too used to the weird frenemy (more enemy than friend, but _whatever_ ) thing they’d had going on.

Suki laughed at the dumb joke, and Sokka’s heart fluttered, but it didn’t feel the same.

Katara was looking at him strangely, too, and Sokka ignored it, focusing on Suki instead.

* * *

Zuko had apparently been in Ba Sing Se _the entire time_. And he’d tricked Sokka’s baby sister into trusting him before immediately betraying that trust. Because of him, Ba Sing Se had fallen and Aang had nearly died.  
  
Even if a part of Sokka had grown to enjoy telling Zuko all those jokes, that part was very quickly suppressed and destroyed after what Zuko had just done.

* * *

Sokka didn’t think about Zuko as they traveled through the Fire Nation incognito. Zuko had clearly made his choice, and Sokka had other things to focus on, like wrangling three overpowered middle schoolers into sticking to the schedule, or fine tuning the invasion plan.

* * *

(It didn’t stop him from instinctively looking over his shoulder every time he came up with a new pun, the words on the tip of his tongue).

* * *

The plan failed. It _failed_. Months of planning and preparing, all thrown away.

(And Sokka had no idea if Suki was even okay).

* * *

Zuko was back, and he had long ~~pretty~~ hair, and he was insisting that he was on their side now. 

And, spirits help him, Sokka _believed_ him. Not many people would go to the length of nearly getting blown up by an assassin while trying to save someone just for a trick. Sokka didn’t trust him, not really, but there was a difference between belief and trust.

Besides, Aang needed a firebending teacher, and they couldn’t exactly choose to be picky.

* * *

Zuko eventually kind of-sort of proved himself by going off alone with Aang and coming back with the two of them both in one piece, because, well, that would have been the perfect opportunity to kill Aang or something. Although he would have had Katara’s wrath to deal with, so maybe not. 

Anyway, after that, it didn’t take long before Sokka fell back into old habits.

* * *

“So, jerkbender, do you know why skeletons are bad liars?” Sokka asked as he passed by Zuko taking care of his swords.

Zuko looked up from the dao and his face lit up upon seeing Sokka. He leaned closer, eyes half-lidded, and said, “I don’t know. Why are they?”  
  
“I can see right through them!” Sokka exclaimed, breaking down into laughter. He’d been waiting to use that one for _weeks_.

Zuko started laughing softly, too, and Sokka’s heart leapt in joy. He was actually laughing at Sokka’s jokes!

“I can’t,” Toph, who was busy picking her toes, said.

“I’m sorry, is your name jerkbender? I don’t think so.”

“My name isn’t jerkbender either—”  
  
“Shut up, jerkbender.”

Zuko glanced down, his face red, and Sokka wondered if he’d gone too far. There was a distinct lack of any shouting or fire being thrown his way, so he supposed he was safe for now. 

And then Zuko brightened, looking back up. “Do you have more? I missed all the jokes you used to tell me.”

Sokka felt a giant smirk grow on his face. He ignored the fluttering in his chest at the admission that Zuko had _missed_ his jokes, after months of thinking that he hated them. “Oh, I have _plenty_ more to tell you. And now, I don’t even have to worry about getting fireballed in the face!”

* * *

“...Well, I can’t remember how it starts, but the punchline is ‘leaf me alone, I’m bushed.’”

They all stared at Zuko, because— _really_?

Even Sokka, who’d been finding it hard to focus on anything but thoughts of his father and what he could possibly be going through right now, if he was even still—even Sokka could bring himself to tease Zuko, a little. “You should _leaf_ the jokes to me, buddy.”  
  
Everyone had a good laugh at that. 

Zuko was staring at him with a strange glint in his eyes. It wasn’t bad or threatening, just—strange. “You’re probably right about that.”

* * *

Later that night, Sokka finally worked up the courage to ask Zuko about where the Fire Nation would be keeping his father.

The answer… was about as much as he expected. Only the Fire Nation would take advantage of a boiling lake in the middle of a volcano and turn it into a prison. 

Sokka knew it was unlikely he would come back, but he had to at least try to rescue Dad. It was Sokka’s fault he was currently imprisoned. It was Sokka’s fault the invasion plan had failed. He had lost his honor, and this was the only way he could even attempt to gain it back.

What he didn’t count on was Zuko joining him on what was essentially a suicide mission. _What happens if Aang is left without a firebending teacher_ , Sokka wanted to scream. But Zuko had a point. There was no way Sokka even had a chance of getting out alive without Zuko around.

He left a note that lied about what they were doing, took a long look at Katara’s peacefully slumbering features, memorizing them the way he hadn’t been able to memorize his mother’s, and turned away. The moon shone above him, and he prayed to Yue that she would help the two of them on this mission.

* * *

It was awkward on the balloon for the first half hour.

For all their strange camaraderie back when Zuko was still their enemy, they had never actually had a real conversation, and both of them had been well aware that they fell on opposite sides of the war.

Sokka eventually broke the silence, unable to stand it anymore and just wanting some answers. “Did you mean it?”  
  
Zuko hardly looked up from where he was feeding flames into the engine. “Mean what? Joining you guys? I did—”  
  
“No, I believe you about that,” Sokka waved a hand carelessly. “What you said about missing my jokes. Did you mean that?”  
  
Zuko finally glanced up, brow furrowed. Sokka idly noted that he only had one eyebrow. “Yeah, of course. I mean, at the time, I mostly saw them as annoying, and then just a regular part of the routine after a while. It wasn’t until I stopped chasing Aang that I realized I wanted the jokes back almost as much as I wanted the Avatar.”

“Huh,” Sokka said noncommittally. “I always thought you hated them. I mean, you _never_ laughed. Except for a few times, and I’m still not sure why.”  
  
Zuko cracked a small smile. “It was just hard to get me to laugh, back then. But I really did find them funny. I mean, you never made the jokes to make fun of me and if I didn’t get it you didn’t patronize me, either. So I guess I subconsciously appreciated that. When did I laugh?”  
  
Sokka tilted his head, trying to remember. “Uh… the first time, I think I made some stupid joke about Katara sympathizing with the Fire Nation? And the second time, she attacked me with a water whip because I annoyed her that much.”  
  
“Oh, right.” Zuko huffed a small laugh, a breath of air more than anything. “That was mostly because it reminded me of how my sister and I used to be, back before my family went completely crazy.”

“Oh.” So _that_ was the connection. Just two siblings being idiots. Sokka didn’t know what to say to that. Sorry your sister turned out to be totally psycho? 

“Yeah,” Zuko said softly, clearly losing himself in the memories. He shook his head and looked at Sokka with a gentle expression in his gold eyes. Sokka was abruptly reminded of the time he accidentally called his eyes blue. Man, he could be so _stupid_ sometimes. “So, got any more good ones?”

* * *

Dad wasn’t there. But Suki was. And Zuko was annoyed about something, but Sokka had no idea what.

And then Sokka went and got Zuko imprisoned. Don’t mind him, he was currently panicking because two people he cared about were trapped in prison because of him.

...Oh. He cared about Zuko, too.

* * *

“Yeah, the only thing we’re hatching is… an egg?”  
  
That was the first time in a long time Zuko had actually shown a negative reaction to one of his jokes. Before, he mostly ignored them, or, more recently, laughed at them.

Hey, Sokka was stressed out and trying to keep his head straight, give him a break.

* * *

“I can take you back to your cell if you’ve learned your lesson.”  
  
Zuko, who had been huddled into a ball to conserve his body heat, lifted his head, breathing out a lick of flame. He smirked and said, “Yes, I have… Completely,” as he showed off the screws he had removed.

Sokka barely even paid attention to what he said. He had completely blanked out the moment he saw Zuko _breathe fire since when could he do that_ and then smirk so roguishly.

Oh.

 _Oh_. 

Well, the universe had always hated Sokka in particular, so it stood to reason that he decided to have a sexuality crisis in the middle of a prison break.

* * *

Seriously, could Zuko always breathe fire? Why did he never use it against them? (On second thought, Sokka was _glad_ he didn’t. Knowing his luck, he would have ended up fighting the urge to jump Zuko right then and there and gotten himself killed). 

Sokka had so many questions, such as, “Who taught you to breathe fire?”, “Is it hard for firebenders to do?” and, “Can I make out with you?”

* * *

“Working at this prison _sucked_. It just had too many cons,” Sokka said to Zuko as they sped towards the gondola.

Zuko was still laughing even as he stepped forward to block blasts of fire from the guards, and he was so beautiful. How had Sokka never noticed that before?

* * *

“So I didn’t know you and Zuko were together,” Suki said to Sokka on the airship.

He choked on nothing. “ _What_? We’re not dating. What—what gave you that idea?”

Suki frowned and looked closer into his eyes. Whatever she saw gave her the answer she was looking for. “Huh. Never mind, then.”  
  
She left, and Sokka was staring after her wondering what the hell just happened.

* * *

It seemed like, now that Sokka had realized he had feelings for Zuko, he couldn’t stop noticing other things about him that only made him more amazing in Sokka’s eyes. The little dimple at the corner of his mouth when he smiled. The way his voice became raspier whenever he spoke with Sokka. How he never seemed to know what to do with his arms whenever he was standing.

Sokka could do the reasonable thing and acknowledge these feelings. Maybe tell Zuko how he felt. He… wasn’t sure if Zuko actually reciprocated, or if he was just messing around all those times he had been flirting with Sokka. But he could still give it a try, just in case.

Or… he could just keep doing what he’d been doing all his life. Which was to repress all his emotions until they went away and use humor as a coping mechanism.

* * *

By which Sokka meant, keep making jokes around Zuko and hope that he didn’t suddenly spontaneously combust from fighting the urge to just kiss Zuko every time he laughed.

* * *

Sokka overheard Katara and Suki talking a few days later.

“So is anyone going to say something about Sokka and Zuko?”

Katara scoffed as she stirred the pot of stew. “No. They’ve always been like that.”  
  
“...I thought Zuko only joined a couple weeks ago.”  
  
Katara turned and gave Suki a long, desperate look, one that spoke of months of pain and suffering.  
  
“Oh,” Suki said. _“Oh.”_

“Yeah,” Katara said, sounding traumatized. “The things I’ve seen and heard…” She shuddered and turned back to the pot.

Sokka silently turned around and headed the other way. Was he really that obvious? Back then, he hadn’t even _liked_ Zuko.

* * *

“Somebody stole all our lanterns. I couldn’t be more delighted!”

Zuko chuckled, then quieted, glancing at Sokka coyly. He bit his lip, looking shy. “Good thing you have a firebender around to handle that.”  
  
Sokka smiled widely, throwing an arm around Zuko’s shoulders. “Yeah. Good thing I _do_ have you around.” 

“Oh,” Zuko said, turning bright red, “I just, uh, remembered. I have training with Aang soon.” He slipped away from Sokka, smiled at him awkwardly, and then ran off.

Sokka sighed. If that wasn’t undeniable proof that Zuko didn’t like him back, he didn’t know what was. When he turned, Toph and Katara were facing him. Toph had a disbelieving expression on her face while Katara just looked disgusted. “Wow,” Toph said, “you really are stupid.”

“Um,” Sokka said. “What’s this about?”  
  
“You and Zuko. Just kiss already! I can’t stand it.”  
  
“Yeah? Imagine how I feel,” Katara muttered, crossing her arms.

“Why would I kiss him? He made it pretty clear he doesn’t like me,” Sokka exclaimed.

“I’m sorry,” Toph said, pointedly sticking a finger in her ear and wiggling it around, “did I just hear that correctly? Do you _actually_ think Zuko doesn’t want to play hide the sausage with you?”  
  
“Toph, why do you even know what that is!” Katara cried, scandalized.

Toph ignored her. “I’m just saying, the guy looks _and_ sounds like he’s seconds from bending over the nearest surface every time you speak.” 

_“Toph!”_  
  
“...Toph, you can’t see,” Sokka said weakly. It was easier than responding to everything else she said, because he did _not_ have time to unpack all of that. Or the mental strength.  
  
“I know what I’m about, son.”

* * *

Dad called him over to talk after dinner that night. “Sokka, you never told me you were dating the Fire Prince. You should have given me some warning before I realized that the Prince of the Fire Nation could end up as my son-in-law.”  
  
Sokka threw his hands up in the air, and very pointedly did not flush at the thought of marrying Zuko. “Why does everyone think we’re together? We’re not, I swear to Tui and La. I mean, yes, he is pretty, and funny, and nice, and strong, and I do like him, but we’re not together, and we’ll never be together because he doesn’t like me back!”

There was silence. Dad was staring at something behind Sokka.

Oh no.

“Um,” Zuko said, sounding lost. Sokka hung his head down. “Hi. I didn’t—mean to eavesdrop. I just was. Getting something! And then you were talking, and I heard my name, and—”  
  
“Son,” Dad cut in, “would you like to speak with Sokka?”

“Uh. Ye—es?” Zuko said. “I mean. If he doesn’t mind.”  
  
Sokka’s head was still facing the ground. “Sure,” he mumbled. Might as well face the music now that Zuko knew about his stupid crush.

There were footsteps getting further away from them. Dad must be leaving. Sokka didn’t dare look up.

“Hi,” Zuko said again, sounding even more awkward than during his disastrous speech when he first tried to join them. “Um. Sokka. Can you—look at me?”

Slowly, Sokka lifted his head up, expecting to see anger, or disgust, or any combination of every negative emotion there was in Zuko’s face. It wasn’t. Mad.

He had a small, shy playing at his lips, and his eyes were soft and inviting. “Sokka. I’m not mad. Or anything. I just, uh.” He shuffled his feet. “Um.”  
  
“Yeah?” Sokka said as encouragingly as he could.

“I must be a snowflake because I’ve fallen for you,” Zuko blurted out, face going entirely red within the span of less than a second. “Wait, that wasn’t what I meant—Agni, I’m so stupid. This is all your fault! I never would have—before you—”  
  
Sokka was laughing. He couldn’t help it. It wasn’t just at the joke, but a culmination of the relief flooding through him at the realization that Zuko really _did_ like him back. Suddenly, all his worries lifted away, leaving him light and free. And so he laughed.

After a few moments, Zuko joined in hesitantly, the giggles infectious.

“Can I kiss you?” Sokka asked, swallowing back his laughter just so he could get this out. “Actually, I mean—I can’t taste my lips, can you do it for me?”  
  
Zuko groaned. “That was terrible.” But he still dutifully obliged, so Sokka definitely won that one.

Sokka smiled into the kiss, and it was the best one he’d ever had. Even when they had to break apart because the laughter wouldn’t stop coming. Even when their teeth clacked together awkwardly when they tried again and that just sent them into another giggle fit.

Even when the rest of the group stumbled across them, and Toph let out a coyote-wolf whistle and Katara shouted at them that there were children around and Aang cheered and pulled the two of them into a hug _while they were still kissing_.

None of that mattered, because Sokka finally had Zuko in his arms.

**Author's Note:**

> [my atla sideblog :)](https://starfruitt.tumblr.com/) i literally just made it after deciding to not subject my followers to endless atla posts so there's not much on it right now, but feel free to follow me!
> 
> this was supposed to be like 2k, what the fucjk. this fic is proof that i'm physically incapable of writing something shorter than like, 4k. 
> 
> also. yes, toph did quote ron swanson. totally unintentional at first but i just went with it because honestly those two are a whole mood.
> 
> got the puns and pickup lines from several websites because i’m the least funny person on the planet. some of them were just updated to fit atla’s world or reworded to make more sense.


End file.
